Gone But Not Forgotten
by Kittenklaws13
Summary: Natsu and Gray have a huge, property-destroying fight. Y'know, the usual. But their punishment is unusually harsh- they are barred from the S-Class Exam. And then, of course, Tenrou Island vanishes. How will the boys cope with their loss- and their new status as the strongest Fairy Tail mages? Lots of OCs, due to Natsu dragging them into the guild.
1. Chapter 1- Fight

**Hey, peeps. I've been insanely busy for a looooong time. Still am, really. So I don't know how often I'll be able to update.**

 **A bit more detail on what I'm planning to do here. First, watch the guild go through their grief, with Natsu and Gray. Then, a while of the seven years. I may well toss in some of the recent info on Acnologia and Zeref. OCs will be brought in, because I think Natsu is likely to drag them into the guild. There will be some romance for each of the boys, but it will not be central to the story. I personally suspect Natsu is demi, so that'll crop up. I'm also going to try to give them some realistic personality shifts, based on A) their loss, B) new responsibilities as the now-strongest mages in the guild, and C)Fairy Tail's diminished status. Eventually, they'll reach the seven-year mark. After the initial welcome, it's up to you guys whether I continue.**

 **Please feel free to inform me if you think I make a bad plot decision, or I start forcing the characters OOC. If I can't justify it, I'll change it.**

 **Now, the story must go on!**

* * *

"Fruit of the Gloom!"

"Sulfur breath!"

"Idiot icicle!"

"You wanna go?!"

"Hell yes!"

The Ice Alchemist and the Salamander practically flew at each other, utterly caught up in their rivalry and an undeniable joy of the fight. They were no longer paying any attention to their surroundings, tuned fully into each other. Watching each other for a telltale muscle movement. Reaching out to feel the eternano pulsing around them. Creating tension that stretched... and snapped.

"Fire Dragon's..." Red flickered.

"Ice Make..." Blue congealed.

"Roar!"

"Lance!"

The brilliant energies collided with a hiss. A little girl ten blocks away shrieked for fear of a snake-monster. Other townspeople quietly evacuated the area. When the steam cleared, two mages were running gleefully towards each other, fists pulled back in readiness.

"Fire Dragon's..."

"Ice Make..."

"Iron Fist!"

"Brass Knuckles!"

The two fists collided, neutralizing the magic cast on them. However, Gray had gotten the better of Natsu. He'd cast his spell on _both_ fists. The other one went for the stockier man's gut. Natsu managed to deflect the blow by slamming it upward with his lower forearm. The near miss had gave him the chance to get inside the ice prince's guard. He pressed that advantage, stepping forward.

 **Oh, fuck.** Sapphire eyes narrowed in concentration as he skipped backwards a step. **Just surrendered the momentum! Gah!** "Ice Make: Floor!"

Natsu slipped, but used a spell on the way down. "Fire Dragon's Claw!" This shattered the sheet of ice. However, it also shattered the sidewalks it covered. And the base of all walls touching the sheet. Not to mention the damage caused by flying chunks of ice.

Both mages paled in shocked horror. Gray dispelled the ice, but the damage had been done. They exchanged a horrified look. They were really gonna get it this time.

* * *

Makarov glowered at the two young men, who hung their heads in apology. "Do you even know how much this will cost the guild?" He growled.

They shivered and shook their heads. For all his tiny size, the Master could be utterly terrifying. " I have saved up food money?" The fire mage offered timidly.

Makarov sighed. He loved the boys like his own grandchildren, but goodness they were dense. That offer only proved their ignorance of the true sum, and their actions only proved what he had feared in naming them as potential S-Class wizards. Instead of rising to the honor, they had behaved with even less restraint over the past few days. His heart sank. He really had no choice in this, did he?

"No, Natsu." his voice was low, weighted with sadness. "We've tried having you two pay for the damages many times. But it doesn't work, and I frankly doubt it ever will. You two simply don't care enough about money for that to be an effective punishment." He paused. " So what I have to do is take away something that you do care about."

They both jolted at that, minds racing. **No, he wouldn't... would he?**

"As of this hour, you two have proven yourselves intolerably irresponsible for the rank of S-Class wizards." The quietness of the words did nothing to decrease their firmness. "Therefore, you will not be allowed to compete for the title until the year your _combined_ damages are less than ten thousand Jewel."

Any remaining blood drained from their faces. Even when they were kids, their _separate_ damages had been that amount... _monthly._ The amount was now around five times that. Gray had to bite his tongue to clamp down on a protest. Natsu's face crumpled. Makarov turned his back to them, in a clear gesture of dismissal- and to avoid displaying his trembling hands. Gray started to leave, then looked over his shoulder to see that Natsu hadn't moved. The ice mage gently tapped him on the shoulder, and his head jerked around. Gray motioned towards the door, and Natsu got the idea. They left without another word.

* * *

They walked out of the guild. Gray began to worry about Natsu. He was walking like a man trapped in a trance. Gray tentatively laid a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?" He murmured.

Natsu whirled around. "What do _you_ think!" He snarled. " Dammit, I finally had a _chance_ and I _blew_ it! And now we might never get it again!" Angry tears burned at the edges of his eyes.

Gray was slightly taken aback by his vehemence. "Hey, don't say stuff like that. If you work with me, we could do it." He attempted a placating tone, but to his dismay is came out patronizing instead. He winced internally as black eyes turned to narrow chips of obsidian.

"I'll do _my_ part." The Dragon Slayer hissed. " _You_ do _your_ part." He stalked off towards his house.

Gray groaned and put a hand over his face. **Joy. Now I've alienated him.** Misery began creeping into his thoughts. **I can't even comfort my friends. Gramps was right. What kind of S-Class mage would _I_ be? ** He answered his own question. **A shitty one, that's what kind. It's better this way.**

The ice mage stuffed his hands into his pockets and began the long, lonely walk to his cold house. Only the beer would be there to warm him.

* * *

On the day of their departure, Natsu came to watch the others set off. He ignored the occasional jeer from Gajeel, and tried to ignore the sympathetic looks most of the others were giving him. A warm hand landed on the fire mage's shoulder, and he twitched in surprise.

"Hey. You alright?"

Natsu turned to face the Crash Mage, but then crossed his arms and looked away. "Yeah."

A frown etched deeper into Gildarts's face. It wasn't like Natsu to lie to make others feel better. "You don't like being left behind."

Natsu's fingers dug into his elbows. "Who does?"

The Ace sighed. He loved Natsu like a son, and hated to see him so out of sorts. Bad as it was that Natsu wouldn't look him in the eye, the curtly clipped answers were even worse. **Time for a comforting pseudo-lie of my own**. "Natsu." He lowered his voice. "You know how you and Gray are going to be the two strongest mages while we're away?"

The Dragon Slayer quirked an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Well, the round trip is about two weeks. The trials will probably take about three days. That's quite a while to be gone." The older man paused to let the time frame sink in. "During that time, as the strongest mages on active duty, you two will be responsible for Fairy Tail." Natsu's eyes widened in astonishment, but the Crash Mage kept talking. "So you two take good care of everybody, okay?"

Natsu grinned. "You got it!" He pumped his fist.

Gildarts relaxed. No matter the consequences of those words, he was utterly certain that they were worth seeing the spark return to Natsu's eyes.


	2. Chapter 2- Shock

**Hullo, peeps! I've had a couple questions asked about Tenrou. I wasn't planning to cover it, and don't really want to, so here's what changes:**

 **Zeref encounters Zancrow earlier, the murderdome gets him.**

 **After Juvia talks Meredy down. Meredy then convinces Ultear to switch sides. They assist Fairy Tail in taking down Hades. However,they are blown away from the island by one of the attacks, hence why they aren't timestopped.**

 **If I've missed an important facet of the situation, tell me and I'll rectify my error.**

* * *

Natsu stared at Doranbolt, uncomprehending. "What do you mean, 'they're gone'? And hey," His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why is a Rune Knight telling me that? Fairy Tail hasn't committed any crimes!" **Except destruction of property, but hey, that's normal.** He amended.

Doranbolt's stomach twisted with guilt for the thousandth time since he saw the island vanish. He saw the anger and bafflement battling in the Fire Dragon Slayer's features. He despised himself for being the one that would have to change that expression to despair. "I mean they're gone." It came out slightly choked. "I saw the island vanish. With them on it. Gone."

 _ **No.**_ The Dragon Slayer reflexively rejected the idea. "There's gotta be a way to know!" He snapped. "You saw them vanish? Hell, _you're_ a Teleport Mage!" A tan hand raked through pink hair."Gotta be a way..." He growled.

"Natsu?" Warren spoke up hesitantly, flinching when onyx eyes fixed on him.

"What?!"

The Telepathy Mage shifted nervously. "W-well, Leo could get through his gate without Lucy, right? A-and I heard Lucy say that the contract could be broken by death, so we'd know if they were alive, at least..."

Natsu straightened up, eyes flashing in triumph. "All right! Now, Loke, get out here and tell us, dammit!" The second sentence was roared.

The lion spirit stepped out of a circle of golden light, glaring at Natsu. "mYou don't have to yell, bastard. What's the big deal?"

"Lucy and the others have been missing for weeks. Is she alive?"

Leo gaped at him. "My princess is _missing_?" He wailed. "Oh no, my Lucy, my poor, delicate Lucy! Whatever will I do?"

Natsu glared at him. His angry scowl mad Leo gulp."Is. She. Alive."

"Yes?" He ventured.

The fire mage visibly relaxed. "All right then." **I can deal with this. Gildarts left me in charge. Time to show him that wasn't a mistake.** He turned to Doranbolt. "Will you guys help?" When he received a nod, he turned to Jet. "Get Gray here. I don't care if you have to drag him out of his friggin bathtub, I need him here _now_." The High Speed mage acknowledged him by vanishing in a small dust cloud. Then, the Fire Dragon Slayer turned to face the remaining members of the guild. "Alright. Some jerk stole part of our family. But we don't know where that jerk or our family are. So we gotta make two teams. One will go with the Council and check out where Tenrou used to be. The other will look for other clues. Who wants to be on which team?"

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, a groggy Gray stumbled into the guild. Natsu spotted him, and swiftly wove through the crowd towards him. "How much did Jet tell you?" He demanded.

The Ice Make mage grumbled and began absentmindedly removing his pants. "That if I wasn't here in half a second, you were gonna 'splode"

Natsu squinted at him. "You need coffee." He deduced. He beckoned Alzack over. "You know where Mira keeps the coffee, right? Bring some instant and a cup of water. I can heat it." The Guns mage gave him a crisp nod, and left.

Natsu guided Gray to an empty table, filling him in on the way. "And I kinda want you to go with the Council team. I think one of us should be with each team, and - Thanks, Alzack - I don't think I'd be able to do much on transportation." He handed Gray the cup of coffee. "You okay with that?"

The Ice Make mage gave him a sour smile. "Do I have a choice?"

"Not really." The fire mage admitted.

Gray sighed. "I can live with it." He paused. "Have you put word out to the other guilds? We could call in a lot of old favors. Hibiki's Archive would be really useful."

Natsu nodded. "Didn't think of it as them repaying favors, tho. Just as them helping us when we need it."

Gray let out a soft laugh. "Yeah, that'll work. Good job." The words could have been mocking, but instead held genuine warmth- and a touch of respect. The taller man smiled inwardly at the slight relaxing of his friend's shoulders. _Can't disagree that the guilds will take that better, probably. And besides, if I yelled at Natsu now, who the hell would be able to get the guild motivated like this? Definitely not me._

Natsu scoffed and shifted in his seat. "Just drink your coffee and pack. We probably have a lot of long days ahead of us."

Neither of them knew how right he was.

* * *

 **Yes, short chap after a long time. Sorry. But hey, next chap Ultear and Merady will encounter Natsu.**


End file.
